Mexican ex-governor is sentenced in NY to 11 years

NEW YORK (AP) — A former governor of a Mexican state who admitted to conspiring to launder money in a New York drug case has been sentenced to 11 years in prison but may face only three more years behind bars.

Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court. He was accused of conspiring to import hundreds of tons of cocaine and launder millions of dollars in bribe payments, and he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Villanueva Madrid is a former governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

Outside court, defense attorney Richard Lind says he was happy with the sentence. He says his client will get credit for time spent in prison since 2001 and good behavior and might be freed in about three years.